A friend of mine is trying to quit smoking and having a terrible time of it. Having a drink with him last week I could see his exasperation clearly.

Three years ago when I gave up my nicotine habit, the cravings were murderous and I only got through them because I had such a debilitating smokers cough I was disgusting to be around.

When I was quitting smoking,  my hands would shake, I would break into a cold sweat, develop cravings for tea, a need to jump up and down, a strong desire to leave the room the list of distractions was long but I had to figure it out. I no longer wanted to be a smoker.